Awning arm



March 5, 1935. E. H. SC-HANE AWNING ARM 7 Filed Oct. 29, 19:52

2 Sheets-Shet l INVENTOR.

(Edward 76 30/14 716 BY ATTORNEY Y March 5, 1935. E. H. SCHANE 1,993,183

AWNING ARM Filed Oct. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

dw/aka J'cirawe BY ATTORNEY);

Patented Mar. 5, 1935 1 u-NIT ,awN Ne ARM Edward Sohane, Lakewood, =0hio, assignor .to

"The Fanner 'Manufacturingicompany,lcleveland, Ohio, a corporation Qfohii) Application October 29,

9 Claims.

.- 'l-he present invention relates' to i an arm for supporting awningsand, more particularly, to ,-anawning arm for awnings of large size which are ,,pr eferably ,-provided with positive acting rmeans for unfoldingthe awning. 7

.,It is desirable i i-awnings for store fronts and other business locations to provide an awning which1is wide'enoughto extendover the side- -walk. a. considerable distance and which may, at vthesame-time, be .folded to occupy a relatively narrow vertical space when folded. This re- ,quiresthatthe awning and its supports shall be disposed in as compact a form as possible against ;the;, side ofsa building \whennot in use. The increase d size of awnings employed also requires -.;a;strong; andrelatively massive arm in order that theawning maybe adequately supported from thebuilding front. The increased weight of the .necessary structure renders it insufiicient torely on the ;force of gravity ,alone to unfold the awning,;, particularly where the awning extends at an angleonly .slightly depressed below the horizontal and positive means for unfolding the awning-are, ,therefore,-highly desirable. .The pres- -ent invention aims to i provide an awning arm =.;structure 1 which constitutes. an adequate support for -,wide awnings and is equipped with various i adjustingelements which insure positive action -without binding or locking of the parts.

lt;is,:,acc0rdingly, an object of the'present in- -yention to provide an awningarm-which'unfolds an awningwith a positive action. -Anotherv object of the invention is to provide an awning arm .which canbe adjusted after being set in place to ,accommodate various conditions of use which w nay beencountered. A 'further object of the ii vention is to provide an awning arm having spring, meansyfor unfolding the samewithan attached awning, which arm may neverthelessbe -.-s afely shipped and placed in operating condition without danger from the spring means.

yTo the accomplishment of the. foregoing and --,relatedends, said invention, then, consists of the neanshereinafter fully-described and particularvly pointed out in the claims.

The; annexed drawings and the following de- ;scription set forth .in-detail certain mechanism ,embodying the invention, such disclosedmeans .;;censtituting, however, but one of various ,me-

:vention-.may be used.

' f In said annexed drawings:

1 .is a side elevation of extended 1 position for supporting an awning; 'Fig.:-2 ,j a top planyiewofthe-awning arm. corphanical forms in which the principle of the inthe awning harm 1932, Serial No. 640,267 (01. 156-44) responding toiFigll; Fig. 3 is atsideelevationof the awning armin folded position; Fig.1 isatop plan ,view of the awning .armcompletely folded and ,also showing an intermediate position ,of thearm during folding; .Fig. 5 .is. anenlargedvertical section through a hinge bracket serving to attach the arm to a building;.Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of ahingedetail; and Figs. '7 and 8.are enlarged verticalsections taken through the spring .assemblyof the, awning arm.

Referring to .Fig. 1 of the drawings, a. hinge bracket .,9 carriesahinge l1 onwh'ich-are supported-,armsections 12 and .13,,the inner, section 12 beingrnounted directlyon thehinge ll and the outerarm-section13.,being hinged to the, inner .arm section. The bracket includes a plate ,14 whichis roughly triangular in shape andfis providedwithapertures 1,5 and 16,for seourini-il he bracket to the wall.of, a.building. The forward portion 170i the bracket is hollow andforined Q with .arcuate slots 18 through ,Which,a..bo 1t 19 .passes. Another bolt v21 is also passed through the hollowportion of the bracket. ,These two bolts serve. to attach thev hinge 11 to the. bracket, theheads ofthe boltsbeing disposedin a groove .inthis hinge to prevent turning.

.Within the, hollowportion 1' 7 of the bracketv a link 22.is ,looselvdisppsedone end of. th is link being? drilled orcored toreceive the bolt lQ and the opposite, end being threaded perpendicularly O to thebolt 19 to,receive a. screw 23 provided.with a head having a square. end 24 for the application of. a toQl- Since v the weight of the awning arm tends to forcelthehinge about the bolt 21 as aipivot toward the wall .to which the bracket .9 is att ed loos n t e b lt an 2 ps imit th in ..2 andv h ih 4 3 fo ce lon the, arcuat s t 18 brturn ns thesc fi- T hinsei thuss sabqu t bo 2 a api and. the. arms t o s, .2 an .Bdwend n h r from willbe raised or lowered so asto' slant at 7 v ou n es a a mmih wa l. o e build n This ad men ma b mad w ih a Q'mfi i and ar in h g t an' wnnedu to the,mechanic aladvantage obtained by't heuse of, the screw, the arms being lifted by turning the .scremh nlar e he of whic b a n theend of the-bracket, soas to pull the link towardthe head of the screwand the arms being d opp d br rn sth c i t r e e .recticn so that the weight of arms draws the link away,f -rom the head of thescrew. When the desired Lslope of the awning has heen attained, .the, nuts; on the bolts 19.,and,21 may be tightened ,,5

and the awning arm will be locked in the adjusted position.

It will be noted that the hinge 11 is so constructed that its lower flange extends farther from the bracket 9 than does the upper flange 26 and that the bolt 2'7 passing through these flanges is disposed at an angle to the vertical or to the side wall of the bracket. As a consequence, the

' arm sections 12 and 13, which swing on this hinge,

are thrown up to an approximately horizontal position or above when the awning arm is folded against a wall, as seen in Fig. 3.

The hinge 11 is attached to the inner arm section 12, as stated, the arm section consisting of steel bars 28 riveted to a plate 29, and the plate having pierced lugs 31 through which the bolt 27 passes, hingedly attaching the arm section to the hinge 11. At the outer end of the arm section 12 is a similar plate 32 also riveted to the bars 28 and also carrying pierced lugs 33 through which a bolt 34 is passed, hingedly securing the outer arm section 13 to the inner arm section. This outer arm section consists'of a single steel bar'35 to which is riveted a casting 36 provided with pierced fingers 37 which are engaged by the bolt 34 between the lugs 33. The casting is also provided with a projecting portion 38 for a purpose hereinafter to be described. At the outer end of the section 13 is riveted, or otherwise attached, an extension 39 carrying a swiveled ring 41. bar which passes therethrough and retains the awning 42. The awning bar is locked in the swiveled ring by means of a set screw 43.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that when it is desired to lower an awning, the awning bar must be extended from the folded position shown in Fig. 3 to the extended position shown in Fig. 1 and that the awning is extended at an angle only a few degrees below the horizontal, so that the force of gravity may not be great enough at this small angle to open the awning and extend the arm. Accordingly, positive acting means have been devised to throw the awning arm into extended position when raised. This means comprises a tubular housing 44 integral with the hinge plate 32 so that the tubular housing is disposed between the two bars 28 and attached to the arm section 12 when the plate 32 is attached. A spiral spring 45 is positioned inside of this housing, as

best seen in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings, and is adapted to be compressed by tension on a chain 46 or other flexible connector attached to a washer 47 disposed in the housing 45 at one end channel member 49 forming part of the castingv 36 by means of a cotter pin51 passing through holes in the sides of the channel. When the arm sections 12 and 13 are extended, as in Fig. 1, the spring 45 is under minimum compression and occupies the position shown in Fig. 7, but when the outer arm section 13 is folded against the inner arm section 12, as in Fig. 3, which is the position that the arm occupies when the awning is up, the chain 46 is drawn partly, out of the tubular housing 44, and the spring is gradually placed under maximum compression. Upon the next occasion for lowering the awning, the fully loaded resilient member or spring 45 will pull on the chain 46 and throw the arm sections into extended position. Thisdraws the entire arm and awning out and away from the building and This ring is for the reception of an awning the residual compression remaining in the spring when the arm is extended holds the awning tight and prevents movement thereof by the wind. It will be observed that the spring is always under compression for any position of the awning, but the amount of compression is at a maximum in the folded position and at a minimum, necessary for holding the awning in the extended position, when extended.

Due to the fact that the spring 45 must be of considerable strength in order to spread a heavy awning, it will be apparent that shipping of an awning arm in folded position with the spring loaded, as would be the case if the parts were assembled in operative relation as explained above, might be inconvenient or dangerous to the one who packed or unpacked the shipment. Also, it would be difficult to reinsert the spring in the housing 44 if it should be removed or escape from this housing. For this reason, the means 51 for attaching the chain 46 to the channel member 49 is made detachable, being preferably a cotterpin which may be withdrawn from the channel member, thus leaving the chain unconnected and making it possible to fold the arm section 13 against the arm section 12 without loading the spring. If this were done without taking means to secure the spring, the latter would spring out of its' housing and difilculty would be' encountered in again placing it in position. To avoid such a contingency, the housing 44 is provided with holes 52 near the end remote from the arm section 13, and another cotter pin 53 may be placed therein before the pin 51 is removed, thus securing the spring in the housing. It willbe obvious that only one of the retaining means 51 and 53 will be in use at any given time, either pin being sufficient to retain the spring in the housing. In other words, the pin 51 will be used when the awning arm is functioning to support an awning and the pin 53 will be used when the awning arm is being shipped or stored.

Due to the fact that the spring 45 extends the awning arm with considerable force, there is danger that the outer arm section 13 would be thrown beyond dead center at the hinge Joint and could not be caused to fold up readily when the awning was again to be raised. To avoid this, the stop 38 is provided on the outer section 13 and this engages with the end of a screw 54 threaded in an extension 55 of the hinge plate 32. The screw 54 can be turned in its seat so as to engage the stop 38 a greater or lesser distance from dead center, as required. In this way, there is no possibility of the outer arm section being thrown beyond dead center and the awning arm will always fold readily when it is desired to raise the awning.

It is believed that the operation of the structure will be obvious from the foregoing, but it may be pointed out, as shown in Fig. 4, that an awning is raised by pulling on' the awning bar 56 passing through the swiveled ring 41 which always remains perpendicular to the wall of the building.-

As the awning is drawn up, the awning arm will assume the intermediate position 57, shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4, and the spring 45 will be accordingly pulled down in its housing to the compressed position by the chain 46 attached to the outer arm section. When the awning is fully raised, the awning arm will have assumed the folded position 58 wherein the two arm sections are disposed close against the side of thebuilding on which the awning is used and will be approxiu these are brought up in line with the.bracket 9:;

r' to drop in the firstpartof its travel and' thus tions are thrownaupwa'rdlya:szrla'llv amount due-to' the laterallys inclined position of; the hinge; ll and USO that 'ithet awning .aand awning armiwill'ibe. disposed-ima-position occupying thelshortest possible tvertical space, a considerationwhereirita is desiredthat the awning ..whenfolded shouldnot-obscure .acwindow or a sign or'whereit .is desiredto. fold thelawningandits arm into a recess provided in theiiace of the building. :The spring-i45-will, of course; besifullyv loaded while? the iawningrisfolded andis-ready,whenever it is idesiredagain to lower the- .awning,=to throw the: armoutward into-extended position, 2 thus carrying 1 the awning out :with it quickly and easily without the expenditure of 1 any great-effort. Thelaterally inclined position ofthehingetll alsoaidsin loweringthe awningsinceithis' structure causes the folded arm helps to initiate the outward movement of the arm.

As mentioned above, the screw 24 in the bracket 9 may be used to adjust the angle at which it is desired to dispose the awning, this adjustment raising or lowering both arm sections as a unit, but the outer section 13 always being positioned at a slight angle to the inner section in order that the hinge mechanism joining the two sections shall not contact with the awning to cause wear and tear. For the same reason the set screw 43 in the swiveled ring 41 is located at the bottom of such ring in order to avoid contact with the awning material.

The arm above described is shipped in folded position to conserve space and may be tied in this position. In order to assemble the arm in operative condition, it is only necessary to extend the sections and then insert the pin 51 in the holes provided in the channel member 49. The pin 53 may then be removed since the spring will be held in its housing by the chain and the awning arm is ready to be mounted in position. Conversely, if it is desired to demount the awning arm for storage or shipment, the sections may be folded together and the pin 53 inserted in the hole provided in the housing 44, the sections extended and the pin 51 removed, whereupon the arm can then be folded without loading the spring. It will also be obvious that the arm can be mounted in the operative position while the spring is still unloaded, thus making for ease of handling while the awning is being erected, and the spring can then be set in operative position after the arm is in place. The ability to unload the spring while it is still in its housing also makes it a simple matter to take out the spring if this becomes necessary while, on the other hand, the provision of the two retaining means described makes it difficult to lose the spring, either the flexible connector, such as the chain 46, or the cotter pin in the housing 44 serving to retain this resilient element.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An awning arm comprising an inner arm section and an outer arm section hinged to said inner arm section, an integrally formed hinge iplateiandaspring-z housing; mounteds-cmsaidi inner section, a spiral ,springgzin saidzhozusing; a

rof-saidspring and. passing throughathasamegzand Ldetachable means .attaching nsaid :.connectcr ::to asaid-outerrarm section; 1

. 2.1 An /awning .armzcomprisingian' inner arm sec- :tio'naand an outer .arm section ahinge' j oiningzsaid outer arm section 2 to said: innenarm section; a

:section .and: an; outer. armsection hinged'ztoesaid linner arm section 'a 'hinge joining Saidsectimis, a housing: a :spring in said housing,.: a rfiexiblazconrfiexiblezconnector compressively engagingnnaend nector spanning said hinge, and passing throughirgo said spring, :detachable ,means iattachingzusaid r'flexible connector toe-said outer armesection, means: attachingthe same etoisaid spring; anididetachable means for retaining said spring in said housing when said flexible connector is detached from said outer arm section.

, 4. An awning arm comprising two arm sections, a hinge joining said sections, a spring housing on one of said sections, a spiral spring in said housing, said housing formed to provide an aperture in one end thereof, a removable pin adapted to be inserted in said aperture to retain said spring in said housing, a chain compressively engaging said spring, and likewise adapted to secure said spring in said housing, means for removably connecting said chain to the other of said arm sections including a removable pin, either one of said pins being sufiicientto retain said spring in said housing.

5. In a folding awning arm, including inner and outer arm sections, a hinge connecting the sections together, the inner arm adapted to be connected to a supporting wall bracket at one end, the outer arm adapted to support an awning bar at its free end, a housing supported by the inner arm in parallelism therewith, a helical spring disposed in said housing, a flexible connector detachably connected to the outer arm and extending through the spring, a crosshead in said housing attached to the end of the connector and adapted to engage the end of the spring remote from the hinge, said spring and said connector adapted to urge the arms toward an unfolded position.

, 6. In a folding awning arm, including inner and outer arm sections, a hinge connecting the sections together, the inner arm adapted to be connected to a supporting wall bracket at one end, the outer arm adapted to support an awning bar at its free end, a housing supported by the inner arm in parallelism therewith, a helical spring disposed in said housing, a flexible connector detachably secured to the outer arm at a point spaced from said hinge and extending through the spring, a crosshead in said housing attached to the end of the connector and adapted to engage the end of the spring remote from the hinge, said spring and said connector adapted to urge the arms toward an unfolded position.

7. In a folding awning arm, including inner and outer arm sections, a hinge connecting the sections together, the inner arm adapted to be at its free end, a housing supported by the inner arm' in parallelism therewith, a helical spring disposed in said housing, a flexible connector detachably secured to the outer arm at a point spaced from said hinge and extending through the spring, a crosshead in said housing attached to the end of the connector and adapted to engage the end of the spring remote from the hinge,

' said spring and said connector adapted to urge the arms toward an unfolded position, detachable means adapted to be inserted in said housing. to

relieve thetension of said spring against said connector to permit ready detaching of the connector.

8. In a folding awning arm including inner and outer arm sections, a hinge connecting the arm, a cross-head in the housing engaging the .end of the spring remote from the hinge, said connector being attached to the cross-head through the spring and together with the spring adapted to'urge the arms toward an unfolded position; v

9. A folding awning arm including inner and outer arm sections, a hinge connecting the sections together, the inner arm being adapted to be supported at one end and the outer arm being adapted to support an awning bar at its free end, a housing supported by the innerarm, a helical spring disposed in the housing, a connecting element arranged to swing with the outer arm and with respect to theinner arm, a flexible connector attached to said connecting element, a cross-head in said housing engaging the end of said spring remote from said hinge, said connector being coupled with said cross-head through said spring whereby swinging of said outer arm about said hinge in one direction pulls upon said connector and cross-head and compresses said spring.

EDWARD H. SCHANE. 

